Building construction



Aug. 10, 1943. A SMITH 2,326,503

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 24, 1941 33 IT/IO 3/ I'Tg 3 BNVENTOR V Alfrec! Smhh BY: ATTORNEY Pa tente d Aug. 10, 1943 7 This: inventioxi relates E0 buiidingwonstrunfibn. I v An. nhjecteofi' hhe pneserrt invention is the prommemems (Chat-ix) vision of a. buildin 'constmcfion whieli two sidewalk'memhemmay be 'bmught together substantiallwamnghtiangles fmeach ovher and looked in position witheutithenecessiw o f any seeuring' meanmsuchas nails, scremsowthe li-ke.

Armtheizz object is. 13h8-pii0ViSibn a= buii 1mg cemituuctimm which all! the sidewall members may: be: the; same length and: may be secured= to gather at right anglesr'without nail-s, sew-we :o i thelilce; v .v e

. Another -.obiectc i& the provision of abufiding QQnStmQtinnfimwk-fidmhe-fiointe'between side wafl l members are mo-heated againsfzmoisture.'

v A, furtherobj eat; is: the: pnovisiom of. a building oanstmcfiion which: any ordinaryswel l ing oi theside wall members immwmoisimre will znot f causegtherwalil tmhowarrbtmlcle.

. A: sun-1 ,fiurther 'ohjeat. jsz the pro-vision :of a;

u idin censinuation in. which "ordinary shrinking ei her. sidewall members; willynot be haIMul-tanundfllyuetifisable,

Yet. anotherobject. is; theaprkovision. :ofia builcll ring QDSblllflfiiXiIfmhishlendsaitselfi to; 1mass'pi1oduetion-rwherfiby the. varimts: elements. may '96 Igmduced, quidc'lyw andrenomomicailiygamt which is anpliqable to al-l'ztygeg wooden-v buildings; till nothelf' Qbiectis the .mtovision-of a; xbni lclw ing construction which-,max be. dismanirledx-without; Waste; '7 V With these.- .anctot-hen'cobjfictrs; in: View; the press em invention; consistsv in; e: huiiiding construction tw side wa -11 members: msiii med: substantially at right n les b.Q'6 Qh'0 hQ T".vY t Zh their adjacent endsbmught: togetoherh a. Bombing annangemmh ehl-zquelx diseased in; one memheif-adiiaoentdits en d, a, matching. ama-ngement, obliguely disp ses m the other member adjacent its; end .1and=- in: line with the figs}; hem-hing; .ar-1;e;-ngment,;ashort: locking unit, and nets-hing ammngwemenhs ..ne-; 1 d isposed adjacent. ogpositewenhds. of the u; t corresponding to the. arrangements of hhe-mem l hers, said unit being adapted tobe mpvecl; downs wandly over. 'theQI nQmber-s with its. notching nangements. coreoperaizing with -those-ofithe mem:

hers removably'toQlock ihe la-titer za si iQn=-,ga more iully described; in vthe following specification-1 and illushna ted in vthe adcompanyingdxawing, 1p; whichv 1 haevadj acent-itsmpposimeends; 1 2i ande lzemtehin emz ngememts-rktand lfipreepmtwem, '1

Emh mtcrhm amrangemenizr 1:4: ofr" wallm mben' i It includes; top amt :botto'memtyhes "Li and 1.1 extending izhrough thetop. bottom egesfif: the member easmeilw xaentieally dieposedgmsmis 0 dafiee's 115; and: Main. ompog-iteiimesxef the wailivmembenrsaickgmoms o1 dadoeeexgemh mgmetwaeen' cemmunimting withrizhe:nntehes z'lfihessidewalzls ofimecnohchesamd the sfii anti: 1 a. V dadoes aredisposed obliquely mytheikengtmofithe memhen nd nomuninaiting With-.5 t

Z I andsdmleasso'ithe. azrznarngememtf-sm; 'Ehemotohss Slioiil Eigilreol' is e perspechwe; view of eplfireii t jzof" i Wall m er milked W h fin -ano he hilizllillg unithreakqy ne. be movecl; into its locking; pasitio m 3 w. r v

' 'mis,r he romee on'dadoesl 2131122111: were Wider'f han .themmleeorrdam mamm the ".1 expelapmqximatelwflle;samegmdm :as' I he *tmlmess. :Qf he, memben. A .-n mnr..25;:1s

formed by the npbmesiandfladoesz.

"The; locking I: is mm;

v he wakl'smember lflh svw tonenefifi exteflidmz mg its ed e; and;

lon itudinally EhejeQfi; a -w i ne n QE JQQYe-H nii slowerseclgei m; its

' meae pmemembm1.,

the shoulder 35.,

'. tween said ends of themembers.

g The member is formed with another bevel 34 at its lower inner corner forming a narrow shoulder 35 between said bevel and the groove 21, saidshoulder being substantially the same width as the shoulder 28. The portion 36 of the lower edge of the member between its outer surface 33 and the groove 21 is slightly. lower than The locking unit I l is the same in cross section as a member [0.

' As the wall members III are connected together,

and built up in the same manner at each corner oi' the building, only one corner will nowbe fl described. g

The ends [2 and I3 of.; two;"members are bers lying substantially at right angles to each other.

This brings :the notching arrangement locking units l l a person looking at the wall from the inside, merely sees the bottom of the V-groove. The

. portion 36 acts as a cap over the joint between the members. Any moisture which may find its way between the members, runs down the bottom of the groove 32 away from the joint. This groove prevents water from getting into the joints between the members vby .capillary action since any water that-might: work along the lower surface of the portion 3'5 is directed into the groove to be drained off. Any rain blown towards'the corner of the building and along the side wall members, is directed away from said members by the outer ends of the which slope away from the corner, while the caps 4| prevent rain from being driven into the space 42 between the mem- I4 of one member close to the notching arrange-v ment I5 of the other member. Then a locking unit H .is moved downwardlyoversaid members with the notching arrangements I4 and of the unit. co-operating with :the notching arrangements Hand, respectively, of themembers. The tenons and of the locking unit-fit into the top notches H and .I6 of the members, and the locking unit fits intothe dadoes 23 and 24 of one member-while. ,theother member fits into the'dadoes 23 and 24 ofthe locking unit;

Two more wall members are placed ontop of the first two members with theit'ongues26 of the former Ifitting into'the grooves 121 of the: latter. At the same time, the lower notches 11 and 22 of thesemembers fit over the tenons'25 and 20, re-- When the otherand the outer surface thereof-smaybe' squared, as shown, half-round, or any any other desired :ornamental design. The filler strip may be secured inplace by a few thin nails or, if de sired, a nail maybe driven through it into the end of eachwall member-to prevent'the latter from movingiup and down due to expansion and contraction. If the-outer surface of the filler 3T1 is squared, caps 40'may be secured thereto and V to the members to cover the joints therebetween, see Figure 21 Furthermore, it is preferable to secure caps 4| to the outer ends of theunits H' and tothemembers lll'to cover thespace' 42 be Referring to Figure 3, the groove 21' of one wall member I!) fltssnugly overthe tongue 26 of the lower. member and the shoulder and the por-' tion 36 rest on the shoulders 28 and 29, re'

spectively. f The'bevels 30 and 34 form' a -V- groove in the-.inner'surface -of the-walL'at theber restingon the narrow shoulders 28 and 29 of the lower member, bowing of the walldue to swelling from moisture is prevented. If the filler strip 31 is mantledi without damage. or waste. merely by,

f bers'anditheopposite sides of the units, thus protectingthis side-of the joint from moisture.

The walls of a building may be quickly disraising and removing a locking unit and the two wall members at each corner and continuing theoperation in this order until the foundation. or base is reached. The-units and members may be used numerous times since they do not deteriorate :from the handling. Y Various modifications maybe made in th invention without departing from 1 the spirit thereof 'or the scope of the claims, and therefore the exact forms shown are to be taken as illustrative only and not in I a limiting sense and it is desired that only such limitations shall be paced thereon as are disclosed in the prior art or are set forth in the accompanying claims. What .I claim as my invention is: 1. In building-construction, two side wall members positioned substantially at right angles to each other Iwiththeir adjacent ends brought together, a notching arrangement obliquely'disposed in one memb'enadjace'nt its end, a notch ing arrangement obliquely disposedin the other member adjacent its end and in" line 'with the first notching arrangement, ashort'lockin'g unit,

- and notching arrangementsobliquely disposed adjacent opposite endsof the-:unit corresponding to the arrangements of the'memberssaid unit being adapted to be moved downwardly over the members with its notching arrangements cotending through the top and bottom edges of members swell, the narrow shoulders give-or between the members, barely noticeable since the member and vertically disposed dadoes in opposite faces of the-member extending between and communicating with the notches, a similar;

notching arrangement obliquelydisposed inflthe other'member adjacentits end and in' line "with the first notching arrangement, a short locking unit, and similar notching arrangements ob liquely disposed adjacent opposite ends of the unit corresponding'to'the arrangements of the. members, said unitbeing adapted to be moved downwardly'over thev members with its'notching arrangements co-operating with those of the;

members removably to lock the latter in position. 3. In building construction, two side wall members positioned substantially at right angles" to each other with their adjacent ends brought together, a notching arrangement obliquely dis'-" asaaeoe' f Y 1' 3 posed in one ,member adjacent its end, said notching arrangement consisting of notches ex- I tending through the top and bottom edges of the member and vertically disposed dadoes of the same width as the notches in opposite faces of the member extending between and communieating with the notches to form a tenon, a similar notching arrangement obliquely disposed in r the other member adjacent its end and in line with the first notching arrangement, the dadoes ofthe second arrangement being wider than the notches thereof, a short locking unit, and notching arrangements corresponding to the first and second arrangements obliquely disposed adjacent opposite ends of the unit, said unit being adapted tobe moved downwardly over the members with the tenon of its narrow dadoed arrangement fitting into the top notch of the wider dadoed arrangement of one member and the tenon of its other arrangement fitting into the top notch of the arrangement of the other member removable to lock said members in position.

.4. In building construction, two side Wall members positioned substantially at rightangles to each other with their adjacent ends brought l together, a tongue extending along the upper edge and a corresponding groove in the lower edge of each member, narrowshoulders formed at the bases of the tongues at each side thereof,

a notching arrangement obliquely disposed in p one member adjacent its end and in line with the first notching arrangement, a short locking unit, and notching arrangements obliquely disposed adjacent opposite ends of the unit corresponding to the arrangements of the members, said unit being adapted to be moved downwardly over the members with its notching arrangements cooperating with those of the membersremovably to lock the latter in position.

5. In building construction, twoside wall memberspositioned substantially ,at'right angles to each other with their adjacent ends brought together, a tongue extending along the upper edge and a corresponding groove in the lower edge of each member, narrow shoulders formed 9 at the bases of the tongues at each side there of, a bevel formed at the upper inner corner of each member extending from the shoulder downrangement, a short locking unit, and similar together, a tongue extending along the upper edge and a corresponding groove in the lower edge of each member, narrow shoulders formed at the bases of the tongues at each side thereof, a bevel formed at the upper inner corner of each member extending from the shoulder down:- wardly to the inner surface of the member,

another bevel formed at the lower inner corner ofeach member to form a narrow shoulder between said bevel and the groove of the member, a groove formed at the upperouter corner of eachmember extending from the shoulder to the outer surface of the member, a notching arrangement obliquely disposed in one member adjacent its end, said notching arrangement con sisting of notches extending through the top and bottom edges of the member and vertically disposeddadoes of the same width as the notches in opposite faces of the member extending between and communicating with the notcheslto.

form a tenon, a similar notching arrangement obliquely disposed in the other member adjacent its end and in line with the first notching are rangement, the dadoes'of the second arrangement being wider than the notches thereof, a Y short locking unit, and notching arrangements corresponding to the first and second arrangements obliquely disposed adjacent opposite ends of the unit, said unit being adapted to be moved downwardly over the members with the tenon of its narrow dadoed arrangement fitting'into I the top notch of the wider dadoed arrangement of one member and the tenon of its other arrangement fitting into the top notch of the arrangement of the other member removable to lock said members in position.

wardly to the inner surface of the member, a

groove formed at the upper outer corner of each member extending from the other shoulder to the outer surface of the member, a notching aradjacent its end, said notching arrangement consisting of notches extending through the top and bottom edges of the member and vertically disposed dadoes in opposite faces of the member extending between and communicating with the 'rangement obliquely disposed in one member 7. In building construction, a plurality of building, members positioned substantially at I right angles -to*-each other built up in courses with their-adjacent ends brought together, a short locking unit extending obliquely across the corner for securing the members of each course Y together and to the next course, the ends of the notches, a similar notching arrangement ob-- liquely diposed in the other member adjacent its end and in line with the first notching'ars and the adjacent members.

locking units projecting downwardly beyond the members, a filler strip in the corner formed by the adjacent ends of the members, and caps covering the space between the ends of the units ALFRED SMITH. 

